R. Doug Wicker's Blog, page 20

Istanbul — Touring Topkapi; Entering the Grounds

Topkapı Palace (Turkish: Topkapı Sarayı)

You would think that in all the times Ursula and I have visited Istanbul, we would’ve at least once before managed to hit the world-famous Topkapi Palace in the Fatih District. But, nope, never have… until our April visit this year. And since on prior visits we’d already seen the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, and the Basilica Cisterns, we ran out of excuses to miss this wonderful place. Locals will tell you that you only need couple hours to see it all. B...

Fun Photo Friday — Istanbul; Bosporus Favorites

Istanbul Wedding Boats 2024

The image above is a repeat of sorts. I took a very similar photo of these wedding boats way back in 2011. Here’s that image from 2011:

Istanbul Wedding Boats 2011

Now for today’s Fun Photo Friday images of Istanbul favorites:

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

Istanbul — Finishing Our Bosporus/Golden Horn Cruise and Exploring the Galata Bridge Area

Istanbul panoramic taken from the Bosporus

Today I’m still covering our 21 April 2024 tour upon the Bosporus Strait and into the Golden Horn. But this time I’m showing the trip back toward the Galata Bridge as our tour boat reversed course, traded sides of the strait, and headed southwest. Toward the end of today’s article I’ll show you the area around the south end of the Galata Bridge, which Ursula and I visited after disembarking from the tour boat.

Map of the Bosporus Strait and the Go...

Istanbul — Cruising the Bosporus and the Golden Horn

Istanbul ferry plying the Bosporus Strait; Çamlıca Transmission Tower in the background

You’ll see a lot in Istanbul if you just take one of the many tour boats traversing the Bosporus and the Golden Horn. The Bosporus (also spelled Bosphorus) is a strategic strait of vital importance. It separates not only the Mediterranean (via the Aegean and Marmara seas) from the Black Sea, but also Europe from Asia.

Bosporus and Golden Horn (Google Maps)

Ursula and I have done this voyage before, so...

First Look: Smith and Wesson’s new Bodyguard 2.0 TS

Smith & Wesson’s new Bodyguard 2.0

Ursula and I made a recent stop at my favorite local gun store, Collector’s Gun Exchange. As I was perusing the shop, focusing mainly upon the more collectible firearms, salesman Cameron was playing around with a neat little pistol that had just arrived a very few hours earlier. He handed it over to me and asked what I thought of it. My first impression upon feeling the weight and noting the diminutive size was, is this a .22? Nope. It was the new Smith and ...

Fun Food and Photo Friday — Istanbul Favorites and TuR DÖNER for Döner Kebab

TuR DÖNER

What’s that old saying? Oh, yeah. When in Türkiye, eat Turkish. And döner kebab is about as Turkish as it gets. Located approximately three minutes, via foot, from our hotel in the Sultanahmet District of Istanbul was what appeared to be a local favorite — TuR DÖNER. How good was this place. Well, I didn’t know it at the time, but 559 Google reviewers give it an average 4.9 rating. I just looked that up for this article, and I have to concur with that extraordinarily high rating. B...

Istanbul — A Turkish Breakfast and Out on Foot in Sultanahmet

Old ruin just up the street from our hotel, Cankurtaran at Akbıyık Cd. No:8

I‘m not going to mention the name of our hotel (leave me a comment and I’ll get back to you on that) because Ursula doesn’t want me to publicly reveal this wonderful boutique establishment, lest we have trouble getting back into it. Suffice it to say that we’ve already made reservations for a return early next year. Not only was this place perfectly situated, within easy walking distance of the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofi...

Istanbul — Arrival and Shopping; Egyptian and Grand Bazaars

Istanbul’s famous Blue Mosque

Last week I finished up my series on our most recent transatlantic cruise with a look at Spain’s Valencia region. Our ship continued on to Civitavecchia, the port city for Rome. Here we disembarked, on April 19, and shared a ride to Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci–Rome Fiumicino Airport. After that it was a flight to one of our favorite cities, and one we had not revisted in many years. Welcome to Istanbul in the country of Republic of Türkiye. At the Sabiha Gökçen Inte...

Fun Photo Friday — El Castell de Guadalest and Castell de Santa Bàrbara Favorites

Guadalest Lamplight

This week’s Fun Photo Friday concludes this portion of our most recent trip. I hope you enjoyed the journey.

The Stone Wall It’s All in the Focus Budding Cactus in Sunlight Goodies for Sale AYUNTAMIENTO DE ALICANTE ALUMBRADO PUBLICO (Valencian for Alicante City Hall Public Lighting) Hard Chapel to Reach

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

Castell de Santa Bàrbara, Alicante, Spain

Castell de Santa Bàrbara (Santa Bárbara Castle)

High atop Mount Benacantil, some 545 feet/166 meters above sea level, is a massive fortress that began in the 9th century to protect this strategic port city. But Castell de Santa Bàrbara was not always its name, for it started as a Moorish stronghold. Christian forces only gained control of the castle in 1248, at which time Alfonso X of Castile (Alfonso the Wise) gave the fortress its current name.

Alicante photo op at Castell de Santa Bàrba...